Group items tagged

In March 2005 High Tech High received a $250,000 grant from the California Department of Education to disseminate project-based learning methods to teachers in non-charter public schools. As part of the project, High Tech High teachers have documented successful projects to share with collaborating teachers from local districts and across the HTH network. The current volume presents the fruits of these labors. The aim is simple: to offer practitioners useful, easily adaptable models of real projects.

The projects you will find here have been curated by BIE and were gathered from online project libraries. These projects are meant to inspire your own ideas or may be adapted to fit the needs of your classroom.

Information is easily accessible for teachers, administrators, parents and students. Standards-based units, lesson plans, instructional guides and project based learning designs model the integration of content, learning skills and technology standards, research-based instructional strategies, differentiated instruction and rich classroom assessments, including a culminating performance, product or project with an accompanying rubric.

Autism is rooted in genetics, including the mutation of certain genes that result in a failure of neurons in the brain to properly connect. Based on earlier genetic research funded by Autism Speaks, such as the Autism Genome Project (AGP), scientists have discovered some of these genes. But much more gene discovery needs to take place. The Autism Genome 10K Project will mark a substantial leap forward on this journey. The Autism Genome 10K Project builds on the successes of Autism Speaks' Autism Genetic Resource Exchange program (AGRE), a high-quality collection of more than 12,000 DNA samples from families affected by autism. The AGRE program has facilitated many high-impact scientific discoveries in recent years, including the risk genes discovered by the AGP and other researchers. With BGI sequencing the full complement of 10,000 samples collected by AGRE and collaborators in China, Autism Genome 10K leverages BGI's cutting-edge expertise and globally unrivaled capacity for high-quality genome sequencing.

The Innovative Technology in Science Inquiry project engages students in STEM activities through the integrated use of technologies that include modeling, computational thinking, and real-time data acquisition. This comprehensive project will assist teachers in preparing diverse students for STEM careers by engaging them in exciting, inquiry-based science projects.

The backbone of New Tech High's unique learning environment is project-based learning (PBL). Instead of handing out daily assignments, teachers assign periodic projects that require critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication.

Guideline for planning projects, illustrated with an ecology example.

list of 50 ideas which could be readily modified for STEM topics

TeachEngineering.org is a collaborative project between faculty, students and teachers associated with five universities and the American Society for Engineering Education, with NSF National Science Digital Library funding. TeachEngineering.org is a searchable, web-based digital library collection populated with standards-based engineering curricula for use by K-12 teachers and engineering faculty to make applied science and math (engineering) come alive in K-12 settings. The TeachEngineering collection provides educators with *free* access to a growing curricular resource of multi-week units, lessons, activities and living labs. Initiated by the merging of K-12 engineering curricula created by four universities, the collection continues to grow and evolve over time with new additions from other universities, and input from teachers who use the curricula in their classrooms.

Portfolio highlighting research based instruction

The goal of RI-ITEST is to prepare diverse students for careers in information technologies by engaging them in exciting, inquiry- based learning activities that use sophisticated computational models in support of a revolutionary science curriculum. Teachers will incorporate interactive computer models developed under the Science of Atoms and Molecules (SAM) project at the Concord Consortium. These materials were specifically designed to support a deeper understanding of science made possible through interactive computer simulations and the new physics-chemistry-biology sequence. Connections will be made between the models students use to learn science and possible careers in research and industry where computer modeling is used.

wiki with examples of PBL projects across content areas

Hyper-IgM syndrome is an X-linked genetic disorder more commonly affecting males than females. It is caused by the lack of heavy chain class-switching from IgM to other isotypes. Patients with hyper-IgM syndrome are susceptible to a variety of infections as demonstrated in this medical case study. Students are presented patient information, symptoms and a diagnosis that must be interpreted. The case was written for use with the team-based learning (TBL) format involving groups of 4-5 students per group, but it could also be completed as an individual project. The case is targeted to premedical/allied health advanced students and is appropriate for any immunology course at the undergraduate or graduate level in a biomedical science program, or health-related professional courses such as advanced physiology, pathophysiology, microbiology, or histology and cytology.

In a unique twist on human genomics studies that seek to identify genetic variants linked to human disease, researchers have combined whole-exome sequencing of 50,726 adults with the individuals' long-term electronic health record (EHR) data. The effort, by researchers at the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania and Regeneron Genetics Center, a subsidiary of New York-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, has yielded novel disease-linked variants, including loss-of-function alleles. The team behind the project, called DiscovEHR, has also found that about one in 30 of the individuals harbors a deleterious genetic variant for which a screen or treatment already exists. The group's analysis is described in two papers published today (December 22) in Science.

This interrupted case study introduces basic modeling to investigate a decline in an American marten population on an island in Southeast Alaska. Two summer field technicians working on a long-term field ecology project for one of their professors notice that there are fewer marten captures this year. Through discussions with their professor, conversations with a local fur trapper, and based on their own observations, they develop a plan to model the population and the potential causes of the decline to solve the mystery. Students use Excel or other database software along with life tables and introductory population ecology to investigate three potential causes of the marten population decline. This case was developed for use in an environmental science or wildlife management course but could also be used in an advanced science high school course or general ecology course. It would be beneficial for students to have some background in statistics including how to interpret R-squared values, p-values, and 95% confidence intervals.

Variety of sample rubrics

PBL units for variety of topics

The Rare Disease Foundation is focussed on linking basic science and clinical practice to increase the efficiency of rare disease research. This model is called Translational Care. This model drives patient based, treatment focussed research projects from disease characterization to treatment with greater efficiency. By incorporating research, astute clinician observation and parental knowledge into the various stages of rare disease research we impact the speed of discovery and the way rare conditions are managed.

Variety of middle and elementary based tech games/learning platforms

The Virtual Biology Lab Project is designed to provide interactive activities that demonstrate ecological principles. We provide agent-based models that simulate classic ecological experiments or concepts across a wide range of ecological topics. Students manipulate experimental parameters and observe the results. These results are provided numerically and graphically and are reinforced with a visualization of the model's "world". The content is suitable for advanced high-school and college students.